Dragon BodyguardsGood residence protection keeps a home safe while still letting it feel like a home. The approach rests on a few well-placed posts, a simple visitor and delivery routine, respect for the family's privacy, and clear coordination with the alarm company. Licensed, unarmed guards who observe, verify and report can do most of this quietly.
Why homes need a different approach
An office or venue can accept visible checkpoints. A home usually cannot. Children, guests, housekeepers, gardeners and delivery drivers all come and go, and the family wants to live normally. The goal is steady, low-key coverage that reduces risk without turning the driveway into a gate line.
Say you live in a La Jolla or Rancho Santa Fe style property with a long drive and a side gate. A guard posted where they can see both the main approach and the side entry covers more ground than two guards standing at the front door.
Perimeter posts and patrol
Start by walking the property with whoever will supervise the guards. Identify how people actually arrive and where someone could approach unseen.
- Main post: a spot with a clear view of the primary entrance and driveway.
- Secondary points: side gates, beach access, alleys, garage doors.
- Patrol rhythm: a walking check of the perimeter at irregular times, with notes on anything unusual.
- Lighting: note dark areas and broken fixtures for the family to fix.
- Shelter and comfort: where the guard stands or sits in heat, rain or wind, and which restroom they use.
Write these choices into post orders, the one-page brief that tells each guard what the job is.
Visitors and deliveries
Most home incidents start with someone who should not have been let in, or someone who was let in without anyone knowing. A simple routine fixes both.
- Keep an expected-visitor list that the family or house manager updates.
- Log every arrival and departure: name, time, purpose, vehicle if relevant.
- Verify unexpected visitors by calling the family or house manager before opening anything.
- Decide where packages go. Many families prefer a single drop point the guard can see.
- Agree on what to do with service workers: who escorts, who signs, which areas are off limits.
Guards should be polite and firm. "Let me check with the family" is a full answer. Nobody needs to be challenged loudly at the gate.
Family privacy
A guard at a home will see a great deal of private life. Professional protection treats that as confidential by default.
- Agree on which parts of the house the guard enters, if any.
- Set expectations about phones: no personal photos, no social media posts about the assignment.
- Decide how the guard addresses family members and guests.
- Tell children who the guard is, in age-appropriate terms, so they are not surprised.
- Keep the visitor log and any reports in a place the family controls.
Our post on security for private parties at home covers the extra steps for gatherings.
Coordinating with the alarm company
Guards and alarm systems work best together. The alarm sees what the guard cannot, and the guard can check what the alarm reports.
- Tell the alarm company that a guard is on site and during which hours.
- Decide whether the guard has a code, and for which zones.
- Agree on what the guard does when an alarm triggers: check, report and call police when needed.
- Make sure the monitoring center has the right contact numbers for the family.
- Review camera placement, and who may view recordings, with the family's wishes in mind.
What unarmed guards do, and do not do
In California, security guards have the same arrest powers as any private person under Penal Code 837. They are not police. A well-run residence assignment is built on observing, verifying, documenting and calling 911 early, with physical intervention as a last resort. See what a California security guard can and cannot do for more.
Dragon is unarmed only. That fits most residences well: a calm, professional presence deters most problems, and the guard's job is to notice early and get the right help on the way.
Booking residence coverage
Book through a licensed Private Patrol Operator and confirm the guard holds a current BSIS guard card. You can check both on the DCA License Search. When you Summon a Dragon, licensed partner firms in San Diego County receive your request, and the firm that accepts it employs, insures and supervises the Dragon it assigns. Share the details of the property, the hours, and your privacy preferences in the request so the brief is right from the first shift.